In the medical environment, it is important to be able to control devices safely and quickly and also as hygienically as possible. Conventionally, operating elements such as pushbuttons, switches or levers are used for control of a device in the medical environment. Control by such operating elements is frequently less intuitive, which provides that control may become uncertain by virtue of possible errors during operation. Less intuitive operation frequently provides less rapid operation, since the user of the device to be operated is to first understand the function of the individual operating elements. The cleaning of such operating elements in the clinical environment is complex, or the operating elements are covered with sterile film. This makes it expensive to guarantee the required hygiene of conventional control systems.
Innovative concepts for controlling medical devices are based on the recognition of gestures of the user using a 3D camera. For example, non-contact operation is provided, and thereby, hygienic control of a medical device is provided. In publication DE 10 2012 205 549 A1, the improved control of a dead man's handle in a non-contact controlled medical device is described. In this case, a gesture-based request signal is projected as a light signal into an operating area. In response, an answer signal in the form of a gesture is detected by automatic gesture recognition. The response signal is evaluated in a computer and is used for controlling a switch.